19^ METHOD OF COLLECTING 



Mr Haworth, in the " Lepidoptera Britanuicu,' 

 in mentioning the tenacity of life in the Bomhy 

 Cossus, or Goat Moth, states, that " the usual way 

 of compressing the thorax is not sufficient to kill 

 this insect. They will live several days after the. 

 most severe pressure has been given there, to the 

 great uneasiness of any humane entomologist. The; 

 methods of suffocation by tobacco or sulphur, are 

 equally inefficacious, unless continued for a greater 

 number of hours than is proper for the preservation 

 of the specimens. Another method now in practice 1 

 is better, and however fraught with cruelty it may 

 appear to the inexperienced collector, is the greatest 

 piece of comparative mercy that can, in this easel 

 be administered. When the larger moths must be' 

 killed, destroy them at once by the insertion of a 

 strong, red-hot needle into their thickest parts, be- 

 ginning at the front of the thorax. If this be pro* 

 perly done, instead of lingering through several <l<iifs 

 they are dead in a moment. It appears to me. 

 however, that insects being animals of colt/ anc 

 sluggish juices, are not so susceptible of the sensa- 

 tions we call pain, as those which enjoy a warmei 

 temperature of body, and a swifter circulation o; 

 the fluids. To the philosophic mind, it is self; 

 evident that they have not such acute organs o 

 feeling pain, as other animals of a similar size 

 whose juices are endowed with a quicker motion 

 and possess a constant, regular, and genial warmth 



